The Dreaded Laces
by metalmonkey
Summary: Oneshot. Inspired by the episode "The Substitute" in which Sam tells Coach Sylvester that Mr. Schuester taught him to tie his shoes. Pretty fluffy and could be seen as slash, if you want.


Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

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**The Dreaded Laces**

Sam was the last one to leave rehearsal that day, aside from Mr. Schuester, that is. Sam had just finished packing his belongings and was making his way to the door when he tripped.

Upon hearing the noise, Mr. Schue looked up to see Sam slowly trying to regain his bearings. The Spanish teacher liked Sam; he was a good kid.

"You okay, Sam?" Mr. Schue said walking over. He offered the red-faced teen a hand, taking in his appearance. Looking at the boy from head to toe, Mr. Schue could see nothing but embarrassment until he looked at the boy's feet.

The shoelaces of the boy's trendy shoes were untied, and from the horrified look in Sam's eyes, he had just discovered this as well.

Mr. Schue shrugged and offered a grin. "It happens, right?"

"Uh . . . yeah," Sam said, looking much more flustered. He dropped his gaze to his feet, giving the offending footwear a harsh look.

"Is there something wrong?" Mr. Schuester inquired, leaning slightly forward.

Snapping his head up, Sam flushed even more. Something was most definitely amiss, the Spanish teacher deducted.

"N-no . . . nothing's wrong," Sam said, giving his head a slight shake. He kneeled down and took both laces of his left shoe in his hands.

Sam could feel his teacher's gaze lingering on him, waiting for him to complete the simple task of tying his shoelaces. Breathing in deeply, Sam closed his eyes, mentally seeking for the first step of tying shoes. Something to do with a loop and scoop and then bunny ears, right? No, that wasn't it. Or maybe wrapping the laces around your fingers was the way to go about it?

Clearly frustrated, Sam fell to his bottom. He left out a huff and angrily crossed his arms over his chest. Why couldn't he do such a stupidly easy thing? It was so elementary, less than that even as Sam saw it. His lips were in a firm pout, and he almost didn't notice his teacher bending to lay a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" questioned Mr. Schuester, concerned.

Sam looked at his teacher's kind gaze and felt the warm hand on his shoulder. His eyes began to smart so he quickly averted his look.

"Sam?"

Sighing heavily, Sam answered, "I . . . I can't tie my shoes." He looked to his lap, too embarrassed to look at his teacher.

There was silence for a moment soon broken by the teacher's soft chuckle. "Is that all? Sam, it's no big deal."

"It _is_ a big deal!" Sam exclaimed, returning his stare to Mr. Schuester. "I'm in high school and I can't even tie my shoes!"

Moving his hand from Sam's shoulder, Mr. Schue began rubbing Sam's back up and down in attempt to comfort the boy.

Sam buried his face in his hands, feeling much like a child. "It's just . . . ," he started, voice a bit muffled, "I've tried for so long and so many different ways. I just can't do it."

By that time, Mr. Schuester was sitting as well, so he gently moved Sam's hands from his face. The Spanish teacher was a little surprised to see tears on the boy's face. He didn't think that Sam would be this distraught. The boy was obviously ashamed and nervous, Mr. Schue could see, from the way Sam started to fiddle and fidget with his shirt sleeves. He smiled; Sam looked so childlike.

"Do you want me to try to teach you?"

Sam shook his head. "No. It wouldn't do any good," he stated sullenly.

"Now that's not the attitude to have," Mr. Schue chided. "How can you expect to learn with that mindset?" He stood, pulling Sam with him. "Come on, we can at least try."

The two sat at the piano bench. Sam's leg was tucked to him so they could both have access to his shoe and its dreaded laces.

Mr. Schuester began with the basic techniques, slowly showing Sam the steps like he would with a child much younger. After repeating the process a few times, Mr. Schue suggested Sam take his turn. When Sam looked to his teacher, the man smiled encouragingly and gave a slight nod. Hesitantly, Sam took both laces in his hand.

Then he panicked.

Dropping the laces, Sam looked again to the man before him with teary eyes. "I-I . . . what was the first step?" the boy stuttered, wiping at his eyes.

Mr. Schuester patted Sam's knee, saying, "Don't get so stressed out. We have plenty of time." He brought his own leg up and proceeded to untie his shoe. "Now, I want you to follow me. Go on, you can do this, Sam," the teacher said when Sam remained motionless.

The smooth voice calmed Sam as he listened to Mr. Schue guide him through every step, assuring Sam that he could do this. With shaky hands, Sam fumbled a bit, but Mr. Schuester kept him focused, not letting his nerves overtake him. Eventually, Mr. Schue had successfully retied his shoe. Sam, on the other hand, had succeeded in getting his laces into a knot with one loop. How this happened, Mr. Schue did not know, but he did know that Sam was sniffling.

Mr. Schue took the laces and worked out the knot. "Don't be so discouraged, Sam. It was your first try."

Sam sniffed again. "A-at least I made a loop."

Mr. Schuester smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. "You did. You're getting closer." The boy raised his red eyes to the man and smiled sheepishly.

"Are you ready to try again?" Mr. Schue asked when both laces were free from the knot.

Biting his lip, Sam nodded. He watched intently, trying to perfect each step. After the final tug, Sam had sloppily tied both laces together. He stared, mouth agape; he had actually succeeded?

Mr. Schue was beaming. "You did it, Sam!"

"I did . . . I did!" Sam jumped up, pumping a fist in the air. " I tied my shoes!"

His teacher clapped a hand on his back, about to congratulate the boy again. Before he had a chance to speak, Sam threw his arms around Mr. Schue's neck in a bone crushing hug. The man returned the hug as he listened to Sam babble on about how he didn't have to have his mom tie his shoes every morning or shove his foot in his too tight cleats during football practice again.

"I'm glad you're happy, Sam," Mr. Schuester stated, pulling away. "I'm also very proud of you. You put your mind to this, and you accomplished something." Sam smiled as the man continued. "I want you to know that you can come to me for any problem, okay?"

Ducking his head, Sam agreed. "Okay, Mr. Schue." He wrapped his arms around his teacher again, leaning his hand on the sturdy shoulders. "Thank you," Sam whispered.

Smiling with fondness, Mr. Schuester returned the embrace. He was coming to adore this boy. "You're welcome, Sam."

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**A/N:** Yeah, I've been wanting to see a fic like this since the Substitute episode. I just thought it was cute how Sam told Coach Sue that Mr. Schuester taught him to tie his shoes. Yep. . . Review if you please.


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